Rahm's City Council End-Run

President Obama used his "pen and paper" to raise the minimum wage for federal contractors, ostensibly to end-run intransigent Republicans in Congress. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, on the other hand, is ordering a minimum-wage hike for city contractors to bypass a supportive Democratic city council.

The mayor last week issued an executive order raising the pay for 1,000 workers employed by businesses that contract with the city to $13 an hour in October from the $11.93 that most currently earn under a local...